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United States Patent | 6,049,529 |
Brimmage ,   et al. | April 11, 2000 |
A path verification message is integrated into a signal, or data stream, that traverses along a path connecting two end nodes of a distributed restoration network within a telecommunications network. To ensure that the integrated path verification message is transparent to equipment positioned along the path, the time period between the successive time intervals whereat the signal is probed by the nodes and the equipment is provisioned to have a predefined portion during which the value of at least one bit of each frame of the signal can be varied. The path verification message is subdivided into a number of parts so that successive parts are integrated into successive predefined portions of corresponding successive time periods. Upon receipt of the requisite successive time periods, the various parts of the path verification message are recombined to form the path verification message.
Inventors: | Brimmage; Ashley (Plano, TX); McGlade; Bryan (Plano, TX) |
Assignee: | MCI Communications Corporation (Washington, DC) |
Appl. No.: | 825440 |
Filed: | March 28, 1997 |
Current U.S. Class: | 370/248; 370/241 |
Intern'l Class: | H04J 001/16; 217; 221; 222; 223; 225; 226 |
Field of Search: | 370/248,247,241,251,253,332,333,347,441,321,337,242,244,245,250,509,476,470,215 375/213 379/2,16,26,29,34,1,221 340/825.01,827 |
5623481 | Apr., 1997 | Russ et al. | 370/248. |